OFFICERS' PAY.

asked why officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps draw their pay one month in arrear, whereas other officers in the Army draw their pay one month in advance, by regulation; and if the practice throughout the Army will be made uniform in this respect?

Mr. BAKER

Officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps are not peculiar in this respect. They are paid in arrear in common with all Staff and Departmental officers. Only regimental officers draw in advance. This is in accordance with a long standing custom which it is not proposed to disturb.

asked whether officers of the Indian Army serving in France are subject to deductions for rations, forage, and hire of chargers, but draw no extra field allowance, while British officers draw allowances amounting to about 4s. a day in all in addition to their pay, so that Cavalry captains and subalterns of the British service actually receive more in the aggregate than their Indian brother officers of the same rank and position, though the latter are, unlike the former, rarely possessed of private means; and whether the Secretary of State proposes to take any action in this matter?

Mr. BAKER

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave him on the 9th February to a similar question. I am not yet in a position to add anything to that answer.

asked whether, while wounded officers who are prisoners of war in Germany draw lodging and field allowances, wounded officers on sick furlough draw lodging allowance for nine days only and no field allowances; and, if so, whether it is proposed to equalise the pay and allowances of the two classes?

Mr. BAKER

The allowances for prisoners of war are a continuation of those specially approved for the Expeditionary Force. Officers invalided to this country do not get field allowance, as the conditions for field allowance do not arise, but they draw lodging allowance for ninety-one days after leaving hospital.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is
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aware of the following grievances suffered by officers who were serving in England before the war whose regiments are now on active service, namely, that officers of a battalion serving in France who came with it from India draw their Indian rate of consolidated pay, whereas officers who came from England of a battalion serving in France under the same conditions draw the English rate of pay, the difference being that between £33 and £28 a month; that officers of the latter who are promoted into the former battalion but continue to serve in the latter battalion draw Indian pay, while other officers of the like rank, their seniors, continue to draw the lesser English rates; and whether any steps will be taken to regularise this situation so that officers serving under similar conditions may draw similar rates of pay and allowances?

Mr. BAKER

The anomaly pointed out by the hon. Member results from the bringing together from different parts of the Empire officers of the same regiment who are drawing different rates of pay; and I fear that there is no way of removing this without creating other and greater anomalies, but I would point out that, if I have interpreted the hon. Member's language rightly, the statement that the officer previously serving in the latter battalion obtains the rate of pay of the former is incorrect. That is what happens to the officer who was previously serving in the former battalion but subsequently in the latter.